Dear Joe

Re: Engagement with Capital Ambition

It was good to meet you and your colleagues Bob Heaton and Milly Camley 11 January 2010. The objective of the meeting was to understand more about Newham’s improvement and efficiency programme and to identify any potential areas where Capital Ambition can either learn or offer support.

As host Borough for the London 2012 Olympics, Newham are leading a significant regeneration programme and focussed on providing a high quality event. We were interested to hear how Newham’s combined regeneration programme reaches beyond the Olympics and includes three larger programmes at Stratford, Canning Town and Silvertown Quay. As you explained the regeneration programme sits amongst a total of £21bn of inward investment that Newham are handling with sensitivity.

Newham are managing this significant place-shaping programme with keen sensitivity, ensuring that the character and cohesion of the area is maintained. You explained that Newham is a welcoming and tolerant place to live, work and study and that through the use of good quality design and ‘soft development edges’ natural transitions will be created at the borders between new and existing communities. Your new offices are a clear symbol of this stewardship, the building design, function and ability to use the spaces flexibly could offer the region an example of exemplar buildings.

We discussed Newham’s financial planning processes and the forecast £69m savings plan to be delivered over the three year period 08/09 to 10/11. Through these savings, Newham have been able to build balances in the past financial period which has provided a solid platform from which to plan further cost-reducing measures. The basis for Newham’s next wave of savings will be to explore new delivery methods that provide better service standards at lower unit costs. Capital Ambition would like to point you towards the London Futures Programme that is exploring new delivery architecture which may assist in your progress towards similar aims. Also you may be interested in the ‘Southwark Circle’ programme that has helped to change the way that adults access services, reducing dependency on Borough Services. Capital Ambition would be interested in working-up bids from Newham to assist in designing and delivering services in new ways as examples that can be mirrored or extended across the region.

In discussing performance, you gave a summary of Newham’s demographics and the environment in which you provide services. You mentioned that under the new performance regime the Organisational Assessment was a fair reflection of Newham but that greater direction should be provided from such significant Borough inputs. Newham also found that the expert opinions provided following more specific visits such as those by the CQC have added value to the services and to the staff in the teams. These observations contrast the findings of the Area Assessment which provided disappointing outputs that must be re-examined so that a greater return is provided from the extensive multi-agency input.

As a member of the only MAA in the region, Newham have strong and positive engagement with strategic partners. Progress with the MAA has been positive and you mention that Government Departments (in particular JCP) have been positive and facilitating contributors.

Responding to current pressures, Newham have benefitted from successfully invested in police and prevention, safeguarding and have attracted social workers from outside of the region. Looking ahead, Newham are working towards creating new markets for local jobs. The area of focus for this work is the Lea Valley and areas towards Cambridge. This is a long-term strategy and could culminate in a new strategic business corridor bringing employment and economic stability to Newham and the surrounding areas.

Whilst in the process of delivering a significant cash saving programme, the London Efficiency Challenge could offer some assistance to Newham towards identifying new and better ways of lowering service delivery costs. Having now been completed in 9 authorities, the programme has shown clear and deliverable benefits to host authorities.

Capital Ambition would like to thank Newham for their ongoing support and commitment to the regional Efficiency & Improvement Partnership. For more information on any of the programmes mentioned please contact Ben Sellar-Moore 0207 934 9956 / ben.sellarmoore@capitalambition.gov.uk. Yours sincerely

Rob Leak Capital Ambition Board

Cc: Derek Myers, Paul Martin, Steve Johnson